Rough Draft: A Memoir

by Katy Tur

every report should deliver heat or light, or some combination of both, a shorthand for coverage that held power to account or said something new. He told me if I don’t find it interesting, no one will find it interesting. And he told me to read books out loud to improve my tracking voice. I chose the latest Harry Potter novel, which I’d bought in line behind Salman Rushdie. I could feel myself getting better as a journalist.

The key to being a good live reporter (or, for that matter, these days, a good social media star) is being yourself. Loose. Natural. Unscripted. Interested in the material, not agitated by it.

Print reporters are sometimes taught to tell it like they would in a bar. For television reporters, the same adage is true—not to mention dangerous.

“the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome.”

I still worry about the future and about failing. I worry about my kids and my country. But I remind myself that I’m not in control. Journalism can’t save us. Perfect parenting can’t save us. Our lives are one long rough draft and none of us will know how we’ve done until many years from now, long after the memories have gone cold, and maybe not even then. All we can do is try.